I often share with parents, students and staff that it is both a privilege and a deep delight to still be in the classroom, teaching my own GCSE Geography class while serving as Head of School. One of my greatest joys lies in witnessing our ethos of putting girls first and learning without limits come vividly to life: building resilience and confidence, nurturing curiosity and independence, and fostering a lifelong love of learning.
Teaching my Year 11 class recently about the global atmospheric circulation model, and how it redistributes heat and energy across the Earth, reminded me what real learning feels like, and how all students can move from confusion to clarity, from challenge to triumph, discovering that struggle itself builds the grit and perseverance that lead to success. It also reaffirmed for me that while teaching takes place in time, true learning unfolds over time.
The Learning Pit, first created by James Nottingham, is a model I often draw upon to explain why challenge is essential for learning and to help students reflect on their progress. It promotes a growth mindset and enables them to recognise that moments of difficulty are when real progress is made.
From the Learning Pit by James Nottingham: https://www.learningpit.org/thelearningpit/
Many people imagine learning as a steady climb up a ladder, but it is often more like tumbling into a muddy pit before climbing back out. That descent, the struggle, is not failure; it is the most productive and transformative stage of the learning process. Yet it is also one that many – including our Northampton High girls – might instinctively wish to avoid. When we find ourselves in the Pit, we can feel lost, frustrated or even defeated, wondering, “This is harder than I thought” or “Why did my teacher do this to me?”
In truth, we guide students into the Pit intentionally, not to be unkind, but purposefully, because that is where deep learning happens. Dylan Wiliam, one of the world’s leading education researchers, reminds us:
“If students don’t have to work hard to make sense of what they are learning, they are less likely to remember it in six weeks’ time”.
Our goal is to encourage students to step out of their comfort zones, and to embrace a temporary dip in performance that accompanies deep learning. Hence at Northampton High, one of the five intellectual characteristics that we hold dearly is perseverance, because it reminds us that working through challenges builds confidence and can spark a real thirst for learning and discovery.
And that’s the joy of the Pit. After the initial confusion, students begin to climb out. The feelings of initial frustration are replaced with determination, as they decide, “I need to work hard at this”, followed by understanding, as they say, “I think I am getting it”, and finally, the exhilarating realisation, “Eureka! I understand it now”.
Our role as teachers is to support students in getting out of the Pit, not to give them all of the answers too quickly but by providing tools that build independence in the learning process: clearly defined objectives, modelled examples, scaffolded supports, criteria for success, frequent and timely feedback, data and self-review all serve as rungs on the ladder of understanding. This process is essential because giving students the answers too readily would suggest we do not believe they can work it out for themselves and perhaps implies we doubt their ability. Instead, we help them to draw upon what they know, ask an array of questions, reflect critically, and make connections to find their own way out.
Ultimately, students must be willing to take risks – to be 10% braver – rather than avoiding the Pit altogether. Stepping into challenge and climbing out again cultivates habits of mind that endure long beyond the classroom, fostering curiosity, determination and confidence that last a lifetime.
At Northampton High School GDST, we believe that the Learning Pit helps pupils understand the process of learning through challenge, which empowers them to view obstacles as opportunities for growth and to recognise that grappling with difficulty leads to mastery. As one of my Year 11 students insightfully said,
“The lesson after an assessment is when we learn most meaningfully, because that’s when we find out what we didn’t know and fill the gaps”.
We remain steadfast in our mission to empower our girls to see that setbacks are not failures, but important stepping stones on the journey to success.
Dr May Lee – Head